Madrid, test field for a new «super-radar»

A Spanish company tests two pieces of equipment capable of measuring the particles, the
nitrogen and the CO2 of each vehicle, in addition to its speed. It will allow to detect irregular practices on the part of the owners, such as disassembly of the catalyst and generalized frauds,
such as the Dieselgate.

Road traffic accounts for up to 70% of emissions in urban areas, a problem that the
different administrations have approached in a very different way, restricting, for example, the access of vehicles to the central areas in town according to whether their license plate is even
or odd.

This inefficient measure, which does not allow to discriminate the vehicles that pollute
the most, could have its days counted, not only by the new environmental labels of the DGT (**department of general traffic**), which classify the park according to is pollution
potential, but also thanks to new radars capable of accurately measuring the emissions produced during the normal circulation of the vehicle. These new machines, which will be tested for two
years in Madrid, detected not only serial irregularities, but also modifications made to the vehicle by its owner.

"The goal is to avoid unfair policies and give the driver the assurance that his
vehicle will not be limited accordingto his license plate or fuel", explains Javier Buhigas, Head of Consulting at Opus RSE. This Spanish company isone of the five factors involved in the
project, in which the Cartif technological center, the DGT and the Ciematalso collaborate. In addition,
it is covered by the European Union under the Gystra umbrella, which seeks sustainable management of emissions.

«It not only measures the pollutants like CO2 emitted bygasoline cars,nitrogen emitted by diesel cars and other particles-, but also allows us to quantify the savings and effectiveness of each traffic control measure" says Buhigas. This system would also allow locating effectively the most polluting cars, and repairing or removing them from the roads. According to Ciemat data, 5% of the most polluting vehicles account for 30% of emissions. Of that 5%, one third have less than five years.